Major fillip to Performing Arts

Even a casual evening out at a local dance performance or a musical programme would convince the viewer that this country is abounding with talent in the Performing Arts field. What has been lacking in the main, thus far, has been the relevant physical infrastructure which could help project our artistic prowess more completely. However, the state under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has gone some distance towards meeting this vital need with the establishment and launching of the 'Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa theatre', today in Colombo.

Replete with the necessary cutting edge technology and facilities, this theatre, which is yet another magnificent donation by China to Sri Lanka, marks a landmark in the history of the Performing Arts of this country. Besides further strengthening the bonds of friendship between China and this country, this ground-breaking venture in the encouragement of the arts, if utilized to the fullest and judiciously, could prove a massive catalyst in the flowering of the local arts. Not to be forgotten is the role it could play in bringing into being artistes of note and reputation.

The 'Nelum Pokuna' is no run-of-the-mill Performing Arts theatre. It staggers the imagination with its very vastness and magnificent sophistication. The question could arise, therefore, whether all the possibilities it offers could be exploited locally for the further advancement of the arts, since the local artistic sensibility has seen nothing of its kind so far in this country.

To be sure, the 'Pokuna' is a great wonder, but if we are to forge ahead towards a further advancement in the arts, infrastructure facilities of this kind are urgently needed. We need to think outside the box and this is exactly what the state has done by going boldly ahead with the construction of the theater. It is essentially the product of a 'can do' mentality. And in the field of the arts our artistes have proved that they have the capabilities in abundance.

Whether the media be Sinhala, Tamil or English, we are blessed with the required artistic talent. Our artistes only need to be nudged in the direction of producing something grandiose and the chances are that they would achieve it with panache. Now that the LTTE menace is out of the way and law and order is not the worry it used to be, the local artiste could allow his or her imagination to soar, as it were, and they have the necessary facility in the form of the 'Nelum Pokuna' to give concrete shape and substance to their creativity. Among us we have the artistes whose creative imagination could match the exacting proportions and specifications of the new Performing Arts theatre.

What needs to be remembered is that we are a country very much on the move. Illustrative examples of what a country on the march could achieve come from no less a country than China itself. Today, China is a number one economic power house of the world. But some 30 years ago this was not the case. In those times it was content to look upon itself as a developing country which was trying to keep abreast of the advanced economies of the West. But the political and economic reforms that were brought in with the widespread liberalization wave of the mid-seventies, has made China one of the most dynamic economic powers of the world.

This stable economic basis has enabled China to rise resplendent in a multiplicity of fields, including the arts and sports, besides, science and technology. All these and more achievements need to be traced to the indomitable Chinese national spirit which does not balk in the face of challenges of any kind.

Sri Lanka too is imbued with the zest for life and of this we could be convinced. Come what may, we have survived over the years and from the ranks of the economically deprived, we have emerged into a select band of Middle Income Countries in just a couple of decades. Our courage made this possible and there is no doubt that our artistic genius too could rise to the grandness that is demanded by the wonder which is the 'Nelum Pokuna.'